Capital Group opens East Coast hub in Uptown Charlotte, with 600 jobs at an average of $194,141

Capital Group opened an East Coast operations hub in Uptown on Tuesday, September 29, with Gov. Josh Stein at the ribbon-cutting, according to the governor’s office. The Los Angeles investment manager plans to fill 600 jobs in Charlotte, with an annual payroll of more than $116 million.

The hub is at One Independence Center, 101 N. Tryon St., where Capital Group signed a 16-year lease for 196,940 square feet that began May 22, the Charlotte Business Journal reported. The minimum average wage for the new jobs is $194,141.

The key numbers

The state’s March announcement and the lease reporting that followed give the outline of the project:

• The company committed to 600 new jobs, with hiring from 2027 through 2031.
• The minimum average wage is $194,141, according to the Business Journal.
• Capital Group is investing $60 million, to be spent by December 31, 2031.
• The state projects the project will add more than $5 billion to North Carolina’s economy over 12 years.
• The office takes up 196,940 square feet of the 20-story tower at Trade and Tryon streets.

At the ribbon-cutting, Stein called the opening a sign of “Charlotte’s emergence as an economic powerhouse,” WSOC reported. He also called the hub a ratification of Charlotte as the second-leading financial center in the country.

How the project came together

The project moved from announcement to opening in about six months, and the hiring runs for years after that. The timeline, from the governor’s office, the Business Journal and Axios:

• March 26: Stein and state officials announce the Charlotte hub and the incentive package.
• May 22: The 16-year lease at One Independence Center begins.
• September 29: Capital Group and Stein cut the ribbon on the hub.
• 2027: Hiring for the 600 positions begins, and the company’s Hampton Roads office in Virginia is set to close by year’s end.
• 2031: The deadline for the hiring and the $60 million investment.

What the jobs are

The positions are mostly technical and operations roles. Axios reported in March that the company is hiring for software engineering, data and AI engineering, data science, investment operations, marketing and global business services. The Charlotte Observer reported that customer support and internal operations management are part of the mix as well.

Capital Group also plans to close the company’s Hampton Roads office in Virginia by the end of 2027, Axios reported. Axios also reported that the firm is buying the downtown Los Angeles tower that holds the company’s headquarters.

Who Capital Group is

Capital Group was founded in 1931, is privately held and is based in Los Angeles. The firm manages about $3.4 trillion in assets and has more than 9,000 employees in 33 offices around the world, according to the governor’s March announcement. Many investors know the company through the American Funds mutual fund family, which is common in workplace retirement plans.

Rob Klausner, the company’s chief operating officer, said in March that “Charlotte stood out as a natural fit for Capital Group’s next phase of growth.” He pointed to the state’s financial services industry and long-term outlook. Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley said the project backed up the state’s CNBC ranking as the top state for business.

Local officials also weighed in. Mayor Vi Lyles called the hub “a strong endorsement of our city’s rise as a leading hub for financial technology,” the Observer reported, and Mecklenburg County Commission Chair Mark Jerrell credited the county’s workforce and economic development work, according to a county announcement. The state’s Economic Investment Committee approved the grant at a special-called meeting, the Observer reported.

UNC Charlotte and Central Piedmont Community College are among the local partners named in the state’s announcement.

The incentive package

State and local governments both put money into the project. The main pieces, from the governor’s office and the Charlotte Observer:

• A Job Development Investment Grant worth up to $17,173,500 over 12 years, paid only if the company meets the hiring and investment targets.
• A $5,724,500 contribution to the state’s Industrial Development Fund utility account, which helps pay for infrastructure in rural counties.
• About $2.2 million in worker training through the community college system.
• About $1 million combined from the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

The state estimated it would get back $4.41 for every $1 spent on the grant. The grant pays out over time as the company adds jobs and keeps them.

The building

One Independence Center opened in 1983 at the corner of Trade and Tryon streets, with NCNB, the bank that later became Bank of America, as its anchor tenant. Crescent Communities and Nuveen Real Estate bought the tower in 2019 and have since renovated the lobby and ground floor, which now has a food hall. A Crescent Communities managing director told the Business Journal the lease shows companies are choosing offices with care and want well-located buildings with amenities.

Where this fits in Uptown

Capital Group joins other large financial firms that picked Uptown for major offices this year. In April, Japanese bank SMBC announced a second U.S. headquarters in Uptown with 2,000 jobs, Axios reported. Axios has also listed Maersk, Pacific Life, SoFi Technologies, Citigroup and AssetMark among companies that have expanded in the region.

Stein’s Charlotte visit on Tuesday included a second stop in Ballantyne, where Daimler Truck Financial Services opened a new North American headquarters. The two openings together account for 876 jobs, according to the governor’s office.

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